FK Rules
1. NO SMOKING INSIDE THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS OR ON THE FRONT STEPS
2. NO EATING OR DRINKING INSIDE CLASSROOMS OR STUDY CENTRES
3. PLEASE PUT YOUR MOBILE ON SILENT IN CLASS AND STUDY CENTRES
4. DON’T BLOCK THE FRONT DOOR
5. PLEASE ARRIVE AT YOUR CLASS ON TIME. If you know you will be late or miss a
class please tell client services and your teacher

1

Welcome to FK: People
Drew Hyde

Diane Briggs

Vice Principal and
Head of Client
Services

Programme Director
and Academic
Manager

Marta Ruiz Dotras

Amanda Dwek

Client Services
Team Leader

Club 8 and
One-to-One
Coordinator

Sean Leahy

Mary Pettit

Client Services
Officer

Programme Director
and Academic
Manager

Sarah Marlowe

Ruth Tafla

Client Services
Officer and
Wellbeing Advisor

Welfare
Officer

Giuliana Tricoli

Josephine Ijeh

Client Services
Officer

Programme Director
and Academic
Manager

Federica Muccioli

Maricel Samson

Client Services
Officer

Helga Dias Dos
Santos
Accommodation
Manager (Homestay)

Pablo Abraham
Accommodation
Manager
(Residences)

Programme Director
and Academic
Manager

Tim Hutchinson
Exam Officer and
University Advisor

Eisuke Suzuki
Marketing
Manager

and Places
FOR GENERAL INFORMATION INCLUDING
EXAM COURSES, BOOKING EXAMS AND

Client
Services

ATTENDANCE PLEASE COME TO CLIENT
SERVICES. IF YOUR PERSONAL
DETAILS CHANGE WHILE YOU ARE
STUDYING PLEASE TELL CLIENT
SERVICES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Study
Centre

A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN STUDY,
AND PRACTISE YOUR ENGLISH.
YOU CAN USE THE COMPUTERS AND
INTERNET FOR PERSONAL PURPOSES.
YOU ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO BOOKS,
FILMS AND OTHER RESOURCES.

Kings
Coffee

BUY A COFFEE AND MAYBE A CROIS-

Teachers
Room

THIS IS ON THE SECOND FLOOR AT
77 GLOUCESTER ROAD AND IN THE
BASEMENT AT WETHERBY GARDENS.
COME HERE IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK
TO A TEACHER.

Wi-Fi

SANT OR PANINO AT THE CAFÉ NEAR
THE CLIENT SERVICES OFFICE.

USERNAME: STUDENT
PASSWORD: LEARNING

3

Things you may want to know...

I want to extend my course

I want to change my level

I WANT TO
Talk with your teacher, tell them
RE-ENROL
why you want to change.
They will discuss with Academic Managers and suggest the
I AM FROM OUTSIDE
I AM FROM THE EU
best option for you!
THE EU
I am not happy with the
class or the teacher
Please come to Client Services
where we will be able to help
you or introduce you to
someone you can speak to.
I am finishing my course
this week...

I NEED TO CHECK
THAT MY VISA IS
STILL VALID FOR
STUDY

GO TO CLIENT
SERVICES

YOU HAVE A 10%
RE-ENROLMENT
DISCOUNT*

We will give you a Student
Feedback Form to complete
GET PLACED IN
and give in to reception the
CLASS AND HAVE
Thursday before you leave. You
YOUR STUDENT
CARD UPDATED
can choose if you want your
certificate. You will receive your
certificate in your class on your
YOU CAN GO TO
last day.
CLASS. ENJOY!
If you are leaving early and
need your certificate please go
to Client Services.
*Please see Frances King Terms and Conditions.
Does not include One-to-One lessons.

I want to take a holiday while Iam studying

CAN I TAKE A HOLIDAY
WHILE I AM STUDYING?
I AM STUDYING
FOR MORE
THAN 12
WEEKS
I STUDY GENERAL
ENGLISH

I AM STUDYING
FOR LESS THAN
12 WEEKS
I STUDY IN AN
EXAM CLASS

YES! PLEASE TELL
US THE WEEK
BEFORE YOU WANT
TO GO ON HOLIDAY

YOU CANNOT TAKE
ANY HOLIDAY. IF
THIS IS A PROBLEM
PLEASE GO TO
CLIENT SERVICES

GO TO CLIENT SERVICES TO
FIND OUT HOW MUCH HOLIDAY
YOU HAVE AND TO ORGANISE
YOUR HOLIDAY DATES.
(MONDAY TO FRIDAY ONLY)

If we confirm that you can extend,
you need to pay everything in
advance.
For accommodation enquiries,
Cancellations: If you want to
extensions and problems please
cancel your accommodation, you
speak to Client Services who will
must tell us giving enough time
put you in touch with the Accom- (notice period) depending on your
modation Office.
accommodation type (i.e. homestay
Extensions: If you would like to
– 1 week). Please speak to an
extend your stay at your current
accommodation adviser as soon as
accommodation, you will need to possible for more information on
tell the school so the Accommoda- how to proceed with your cancellation Department can check if it is
tion.
5
possible.

Accommodation information

I have a problem
GO TO CLIENT SERVICES
WHO WILL BE ABLE TO
HELP YOU
IS YOUR PROBLEM...
ABOUT YOUR
CLASS

PERSONAL OR
MEDICAL

ACADEMIC
MANAGERS

WELFARE
OFFICER

RESIDENCES

HOMESTAYS

RUTH
TAFLA

PABLO
ABRHAM

ABOO
HELGA DIAS
DOS SANTOS ABOOBAKER

MARY
PETTIT

1TO1 AND
CLUB 8

DIANE JOSEPHINE
IJEH
BRIGGS

EXAM
COURSES

ABOUT YOUR
ACCOMMODATION

I have a complaint

Go to Client Services where we may
be able to resolve the problem. If you
are not satisfied, you may ask for an
AMANDA
MARICEL
appointment with the Academic
DWEK
SAMSON
Manager, Head of Client Services or
the Accommodation Manager. If you are still not satisfied, you may ask
for an appointment with the Vice Principal. If you are still not satisfied,
we will help you to write down the complaint and we will give it to the
Principal or you can contact him directly by phone (0207 870 6521) or
email garth.younghusband@francesking.co.uk. Frances King is a
member of English UK, the Association of Accredited English Language
Services. If you are not satisfied with a decision of the school you may
write to the association for advice.

Visas and police registration
Registering with the police: On your
visa it may say that you need to go
to the police within a number of
days of arrival in the UK.
You need to bring your passport or
travel document, any Home Office
letters or forms and a work permit if
you have one.
If this is so please go to:
The Overseas Record Office
Brandon House
180 Borough High Street
London
SE1 1LH
020 7230 1208

Opening times:
Monday to Friday
9.00—16.00
Closed on Weekends

Books for sale
Essential Grammar in Use
(+ CD-ROM and
Answer key)
For levels B-C

At Frances King we have
opportunities for students
get work experience as
Client Services Student
Assistants or in other
departments.
To apply for a Student
Assistant role you need:
To be a Frances King
student;
To have a minimum upper
intermediate level of English;
To be staying in the UK for a
minimum of 12 weeks;
To be a Non GSV, SVV or
VV holder;
A knowledge of other
Languages (as a bonus).
3 hours work in exchange
for 3 free hours of study per
day.
Please bring your CV (in
English) to Marta at the
Client Services Office.

8

Tim Hutchinson University Advisor

If you are looking to go to
university in the UK you can
ask our University Advisor
Tim Hutchinson.
Counselling on how to apply
for and study at UK
universities;
help with university selection
University application;
support: writing of personal
statements and CVs.
For more information and to
make an appointment go to
Client Services.

Living
in London

Getting around
Tube: Gloucester Road, Earls
Court and South Kensington are
the nearest tube stations. In
every station you can buy
tickets or top up your Oyster
Card. You will have a tube map
in your Welcome Pack.
Bus: A cheaper way to travel
around London, but also slower.
To find out which buses leave
from the Gloucester road area
go to the nearest bus stop and
look at the map.
Barclays Bikes: These are
bikes provided by London for
anyone to use for a small fee.
You can pay by credit card or
online. Go to the TFL website
for more information.
Coach travel: This is a slow
but cheap way to travel. For
information on timetables and
fares go to coach.nationalexpress.com/ or visit Victoria
Coach Station, 164 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9TP.
Sightseeing buses: You can
also take a bus tour of the City
for around ÂŁ22-25 from just
outside Gloucester Road Tube
Station.

10

Taxis: Take Black Cabs or phone
Addison Lee on 0207 387 88 88
or 0844 800 6677.
There are also taxis which look like
normal cars called Minicabs. Only
get these from a taxi rank and if
you have booked one make sure
the driver says your name to
confirm the booking before you
get in the car.
Rail travel: For information on
times and fares go to www.nationalrail.co.uk This is an expensive
way to travel but it is quick.
Booking in advance can save you
money.
Coach travel: This is a slow but
cheap way to travel. For information on timetables and fares go to
coach.nationalexpress.com/ or
visit Victoria Coach Station, 164
Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W
9TP.
Walking: Victoria station is about
30 minutes walk from Gloucester
Road; High Street Kensington 15
minutes; South Kensington is
about 8 minutes; Knightsbridge 20
minutes; Notting Hill 25 minutes;
Southbank 50 minutes; Piccadilly
Circus 40 minutes.

Getting an Oyster Card
What is an Oyster Card?
An Oyster Card is a travel card which makes travelling around London
easier. You can use it on most forms of public transport in London. If
you want to take a train outside of London (e.g. to Brighton) you will
need to buy a separate ticket.

CAN I GET A
STUDENT
OYSTER CARD?
I AM STUDYING AT
FRANCES KING
FOR MORE THAN
14 WEEKS*

I AM STUDYING AT
FRANCES KING
FOR LESS THAN
14 WEEKS

YES!

YOU CANNOT GET A
STUDENT OYSTER
CARD. BUT YOU CAN
GET A NORMAL
OYSTER CARD

HERE IS HOW:

1. go to www.tfl.gov.uk
2. press ‘tickets’from the main
menu at the top
3.under the oyster online menu
press ‘get a photocard’
4. under get a photocard men
press ‘18+ student’
5. press view list of all establishments’
6. select Frances King School of
English (Gloucester Road or
Wetherby Gardens)
7. press ‘apply now’ and follow the
instructions
8. you will need to pay
*You need to be a full-time student
(studying at least 15 hours per week)

TOP UP YOUR CARD
AT ANY TUBE
STATION, OYSTER
CARD SHOP OR
ONLINE.
YOU CAN
BUY A
DAY/WEEK/
MONTH/YEAR
TRAVELCARD
PAY AS
YOU GO

11

Things to do in London
Here are some recommendations
from us and previous students at
Frances King:
Museums/Art Galleries: There
are over 100 museums in London
and all of them are free including
the British Museum, the National
Gallery, the Natural History
Museum, the Science Museum
and the V&A. You should also visit
some of the others: try the
Whitechapel Art Gallery, or for
more contemporary art, the Design
Museum and Dulwich Picture
House.
Parks: 30% of London is green
space for you to enjoy. Visit a park
local to you and or for more
information on the Royal Parks see
www.royalparks.org.uk.
Markets: The most famous
markets are Camden Market (every
day 10am-6pm) Tube: Camden
Town, Petticoat Lane (Sunday to
Friday 10am -2pm) Tube: Liverpool
Street, Aldgate or Aldgate East,
and Portobello Market (Saturday
8am-6.30pm) Tube: Notting Hill
Gate, Ladbroke Grove. For good
quality fresh food try a farmers’
market early on a Saturday or
Sunday morning (See
www.lfm.org.uk to find one).

Pubs and Pub Culture: When
you arrive in a pub first go to the
bar to order your drink. Take your
drinks to a table or stand and
drink. It is quite impolite to remain
in the pub without a drink so
either order another one or move
somewhere else.
Tipping culture: In restaurants if
a ‘service charge’ has been
added to the bill you don’t have
to leave a tip. If service is not
included it is normal to leave a tip
of 10-15%. Do not tip in Pubs.
For taxi drivers give up to £1 more
or tell them to ‘keep the change’.
Eating out: Best value are often
Indian or Chinese. Some do

other local cinemas. The cinema
has some themed evenings and
sing along.

‘all-you-can-eat’ deals. To try
English food, go to a Pub and try
some traditional English meals like
Shepherd’s Pie.
Theatres and Musicals: Buy half
price tickets for shows on the
same day from the ticket office in
Leicester Square. Queue at the
theatre for returned tickets a few
hours before the performance.
You can buy tickets at any box
office around Piccadilly Circus.
Cinemas: Cinemas in central
London tend to be expensive so
find one in Zone 2 if you can. the
Prince Charles Cinema near
Leicester Square shows unusual
older films and is cheaper than

Shopping: Westfield (White City
and Stratford) are the biggest
shopping centres in London.
The best department stores are
John Lewis (Oxford Circus) and
Peter Jones (Sloane Square).
Marks and Spencer is good for
food and clothes. House of Fraser
and Debenhams are cheaper
department stores.
Selfridges (Marble Arch/Oxford
Street), Liberty (near Regent
Street), Harvey Nichols and
Harrods (Knightsbridge) are the
most popular high end stores.
For cheap clothes visit shops like
Primark, Topshop and H&M
(Oxford Street).For electrical items
there is a hardware store at 101
Gloucester Road next door to
Pret A Manger.
Supermarkets: There is a wide
range of supermarkets in the UK.
Waitrose (opposite 77 Gloucester
Road) is expensive but good
quality. Also Wholefoods on
Kensington High Street sells very
good quality organic food.
Sainsbury, Tesco and the
Co-operative are cheaper but also
have good quality products. Asda
is the cheapest supermarket and
has the most offers.

13

Services
Mobile phones: To get a sim
card to use in the UK you need
to go to a mobile phone store.
Lots of companies do ‘sim only’
deals. Look in Tesco and O2
stores for more details.
Post Offices: Letters in the UK
are priced by both size AND
weight so check before you
post. The nearest post office is
on the corner of Gloucester
Road and Cromwell Road
diagonally opposite to 77
Gloucester Road.
Bureau de Change: The
nearest is located in the
Gloucester Arcade opposite 77
Gloucester road.
The Post Office also does
exchange but wherever you go,
check the rates before you buy.
Libraries: The nearest library to
the school are:
Kensington Central Library
Phillimore Walk
W8 7RX
Opening times: Mon, Tues,
Thurs 9.30-20.00; Wed, Fri, Sat
9.30 – 17.00
Tube: Kensington High Street

14

Sports Centres: The best public
Gym near to the school is:
Queen Mother Sports Centre
233 Vauxhall Bridge Road
SW1V 1EL
Police Stations: The nearest
police station to the school is:
Kensington Police Station,
72 Earls Court Road,
London,
W8 6EQ
Tel: 020 7376 1212
Metropolitan Police Station,
2 Lucan Place,
London
SW3 2PB
Tel: 020 7376 1212
If you are a victim of any crime or
are charged with any crime,
please tell Client Services who
will offer you assistance.
The Frances King Emergency
Telephone number is 07768
325391. You can also find this on
the back of your Student Card.
Money Transfers: Western
Union offer a worldwide money
transfer service – you can receive
money without a bank account.
For more information on location
of offices and charges see
www.westernunion.co.uk.

Health

CAN I
REGISTER WITH
A DOCTOR?
I AM STUDYING IN
THE UK FOR MORE
THAN 6 MONTHS

I AM STUDYING IN
THE UK FOR LESS
THAN 6 MONTHS

REGISTERING GUIDLINES:
1.FIND A DOCTOR IN YOUR LOCAL AREA

IF YOU NEED TO SEE A
DOCTOR PLEASE GO TO
ONE OF THE WALK-IN
MEDICENTRES (more
information on the next
page)

www.nhs.uk/england/doctors/
nearestsearch.asp

2. CONTACT THE PRACTICE AND ASK TO
REGISTER WITH THEM. YOU WILL NEED:
YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS, DATE OF
BIRTH, ID CARD, PASPORT AND PROOF OF
ADDRESS

3. ONCE REGISTERED, YOU WILL RECEIVE
AN NHS CARD. KEEP IT SAFE AND TAKE IT
WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR,
DENTIST OR HOSPITAL.

If you are not
entitled to free
medical treatment you must
buy medical
insurance if you
have not done
so already.
Private medical
treatment is
expensive.

Is NHS
NHS free?
free?
Is
NHS treatment is free if one of these
is true for you:
You are from the European Economic Area (EEA).
You are studying on a course in the
UK for 6 months or more
Your country has a reciprocal health
agreement with the UK:
www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/countryguide/NonEEAcountries/Pages/Non-EEAcountries.
aspx
You need to go to ‘Accident and
Emergency’ for treatment.
See also:
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/

15

I need to see a Doctor
NB: Please read the information on entitlement to Free
health treatment in the UK.

In an emergency call 999
Call 111, when it’s less urgent
than 999 If you need medical help
quickly, but it isn’t a 999 emergency, you can call NHS 111. NHS
111 will asses you, provide advice

NHS Walk-in Centres:

Nearest tube: Parsons Green

To get free immediate
treatment by nurses for
simple problems quickly
and without an appointment.
5-7 Parsons Green
London
SW6 4UL
020 8846 6758
Open weekdays
8.00-20.00 and weekends 9.00–13.30

and direct you straight away to the
local service that can help you
best. It is available 24 hours a day
7 days a week and calls are free,
including from mobiles. For more
information visit www.nhs.uk/111

Emergencies and Hospitals
Minor Injuries Units:
Come to these to reduce your
waiting time if your injury is not life
threatening:
Nearest to the school:

Important information
The Law in the UK:
Smoking: Smoking is banned
in all public buildings in Britain
including bars, restaurants,
shops, stations, cinemas and
on all public transport. You can
smoke on the street.
Drugs: Britain has strict laws
against the use of illegal drugs
and punishments can be very
heavy. You are strongly advised
not to use illegal drugs during
your stay.
Shoplifting: People who are
caught stealing from shops will
probably have to go to court.
TV Licences: Every house/flat
that has a TV must have a TV
licence. If you rent a room or are
in a flat share, find out who is
responsible for getting the TV
licence.

Council Tax: This is a local tax
that his charged on each
property. It varies in different
boroughs (districts) in London
and each has its own rules for
discounts for students.
Weapons: it is illegal to carry any
weapon for defence including
gas and sprays. You will be
arrested if the police stop you
and you have a knife.
Cycling: you cannot ride a bike
on a pavement and you must
have lights if you cycle at night. A
helmet is not obligatory but is
strongly recommended.
Legal problems:
For free legal advice you can go
to the Citizens Advice Bureau
(Chelsea Old Town Hall, Kings
Road, London, SW3 5EE 0844
8269708 or 020 7351 2114)

For more information
come and see us
at reception
or visit
our website
www.francesking.co.uk